PFTV #1 Fact Sheet
FOUNDATION SERIES Episode #1 of 4
“THE PANIC MISTAKE” © Michael Norman International & www.PanicFreeTV.com
You Are Not Alone: For every 3 to 4 people that you meet, watch on TV, hear on the radio, or see on Facebook… one of them, on average, will experience at least one panic attack in their lifetime. Along with that, almost 1 in 20 people will experience what’s often labelled “Panic Disorder”*. (All the “Panic Disorder” label really refers to, in everyday English, is when people have frequent enough, unexpected panic attacks, that it significantly changes their behaviour and life, and/or robs them of their sense of safety). If everyone in the US alone, who meet the criteria for “Panic Disorder” sometime in their life, were put into one city… it would be bigger than the 3 biggest US cities combined! (New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.) This means that you’re definitely not alone. Panic is a FAR more common part of the human experience than most people would ever guess. If this seems a little hard for you to believe at the moment, that’s because anxiety issues are often very private. A lot of people with panic do all they can to try and hide it — and that often creates an illusion that panic is rare. However, it’s not. It’s surprisingly common. Since we live in celebrity-obsessed culture, to demonstrate that you’re not alone, here are just a few of the more famous celebrities who’ve openly admitted that they’ve been deeply affected by panic attacks: Alanis Morissette, Scarlett Johansson, Emma Stone, Adele, Johnny Depp, Kim Basinger, David Bowie, the late Princess Diana, and I could go on… NOTE: I prefer to use the general term “panic” or “panic false alarm” instead of “panic attack”... because panic is not an “attack”. I especially try to avoid the term “panic disorder” because it's misleading and can be very unhelpful. Words matter. We will cover this further in Episode 2.
© Michael Norman International & www.PanicFreeTV.com
Panic Is Not An Illness: Contrary to what many doctors like to tell people, panic is not an illness. There is absolutely no scientific evidence to support that view. Panic is also not a result of any so-called “chemical imbalance”. The chemical imbalance hypothesis is dead in mainstream scientific circles, although many doctors who don’t keep up with the scientific literature haven’t discovered this yet. If you want to learn more about this, one of the top researchers in this area, Irving Kirsch, has written an accessible book called “The Emperor's New Drugs”. On top of this, Brett Deacon from The University of Wyoming headed research showing that using the outdated, inaccurate chemical imbalance metaphor is actively harmful... because it increases self-blame, pessimism about the future, provokes a sense of stigma, and convinces people to believe in medication as the best or only solution (even though research has clearly shown that medication is far less effective for panic than psychological approaches). In other words, when people are made to believe in the outdated “chemical imbalance” theory, it makes it harder for them to get better, it can be depressing, and it makes everything worse. Fortunately, all the science clearly shows that panic is not an illness, and it’s NOT caused by any mythical “chemical imbalance”.
A Panic Attack Is “Just” An Overprotective Mistake It’s biochemically impossible for a panic attack to continue indefinitely. Panic always ends, no matter what you do. While there are ways to immediately end panic attacks (no matter how intense), the key thing to know, for now, is that no matter what you do, even if you do NOTHING, panic will ALWAYS end. The physiology of panic will be explained further in episode #2. IMPORTANT: It's always good to get one full medical check-up from a good doctor, just to make sure that you don't have a medical issue that can mimic panic. A lot of people get worried when they hear this, but it's just sensible advice. We're recommended to check with a doctor before starting a new exercise program, and it's just as good an idea if you've diagnosed your situation as panic. © Michael Norman International & www.PanicFreeTV.com
A Panic Attack Is A False Alarm The most scientifically backed explanation for why so many of us have had panic attacks is what Psychology Professor, Randolph Nesse, from Arizona State University, has called The Smoke Detector Principle. To understand The Smoke Detector Principle, consider this: which of these two smoke alarms would you prefer to have protecting you in your home? An undersensitive smoke alarm that sometimes FAILS to go off and stays silent, even when there is a deadly fire in your house? Or… an over-sensitive smoke alarm that never misses a real fire… but occasionally goes off when you burn the toast, even though there is no danger, and everything is actually fine? When it comes to our survival, it’s better to have a smoke alarm system that errs on the side of safety… even if that means we sometimes get false alarms. Because our personal safety is so important, our fear systems are also biased to be over-protective… and this means they can sometimes have false alarms. And so panic attacks are False Alarms of our overprotective, life-saving fear systems. While it probably hasn’t felt that way in the past, the truth is that a panic attack is “JUST” a terrifying, overwhelming, overprotective MISTAKE. A mistake that, ironically, is motivated by our brain’s #1 priority in life — to keep you safe. The only REAL problem, and it’s a big one, is that it’s a terrifying mistake. It’s a mistake that can leave us feeling exposed and vulnerable, and make our world feel very unsafe. The really good news is that because panic is a mistake that your brain has been making, we can teach your brain to correct it for good.
© Michael Norman International & www.PanicFreeTV.com
Here's Why I Believe You Are Braver Than You've Realised: Courage is not the absence of fear, as Nelson Mandela pointed out, and NO ONE finds a Panic False Alarm at all easy. There are Iraq vets who’ve said that their panic attacks were as terrifying as being in a firefight in the middle of the Gulf War. In other words, a full-blown Panic False Alarm is a terrifying experience for even the strongest and bravest people. Why is panic so scary? When a smoke alarm goes off because of burnt toast, it’s just as loud and unpleasant as when it’s goes off because of a deadly fire. In the same way, even though panic is “JUST” a false alarm, your body doesn’t know that, and so it responds as if you were really in danger. A really bad panic “attack” is the exact same physiological response people have when jumping out of a plane, or just before a car crash… or having a stalker attack out of the shadows. It's the fear system operating at its maximum. This is why I believe you're probably a LOT more courageous than you've given yourself credit for. You’ve faced things other people couldn’t imagine, over and over again, and you haven’t given up. Together, we will help you finally triumph, and get back your normal, Panic-Free life. Just like I’m walking now, after most people “knew” I’d never walk again, YOU TOO can and will become your own genuine, living proof — both to yourself and to others — that real, lasting freedom from panic attacks is absolutely possible. That's what Panic Free is all about: you finally enjoying a life that's as normal, care-free, and Panic-Free as anyone else you know.
Coming next... EPISODE 2: “PANIC EXPLAINED” Episode 2 is about THE core, hidden pattern behind every panic attack you’ve ever had. Understanding this core pattern: Is KEY to your quick, permanent recovery... Explains why you’ve had multiple Panic False Alarms... Will take away all the mystery surrounding the symptoms panic has given you... And it will show you the fastest, most effective way to go from a life with panic back to life that’s as normal, care-free, and panic-free… as anyone else you know.
© Michael Norman International & www.PanicFreeTV.com
“THE PANIC MISTAKE” © Michael Norman International & www.PanicFreeTV.com
You Are Not Alone: For every 3 to 4 people that you meet, watch on TV, hear on the radio, or see on Facebook… one of them, on average, will experience at least one panic attack in their lifetime. Along with that, almost 1 in 20 people will experience what’s often labelled “Panic Disorder”*. (All the “Panic Disorder” label really refers to, in everyday English, is when people have frequent enough, unexpected panic attacks, that it significantly changes their behaviour and life, and/or robs them of their sense of safety). If everyone in the US alone, who meet the criteria for “Panic Disorder” sometime in their life, were put into one city… it would be bigger than the 3 biggest US cities combined! (New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.) This means that you’re definitely not alone. Panic is a FAR more common part of the human experience than most people would ever guess. If this seems a little hard for you to believe at the moment, that’s because anxiety issues are often very private. A lot of people with panic do all they can to try and hide it — and that often creates an illusion that panic is rare. However, it’s not. It’s surprisingly common. Since we live in celebrity-obsessed culture, to demonstrate that you’re not alone, here are just a few of the more famous celebrities who’ve openly admitted that they’ve been deeply affected by panic attacks: Alanis Morissette, Scarlett Johansson, Emma Stone, Adele, Johnny Depp, Kim Basinger, David Bowie, the late Princess Diana, and I could go on… NOTE: I prefer to use the general term “panic” or “panic false alarm” instead of “panic attack”... because panic is not an “attack”. I especially try to avoid the term “panic disorder” because it's misleading and can be very unhelpful. Words matter. We will cover this further in Episode 2.
© Michael Norman International & www.PanicFreeTV.com
Panic Is Not An Illness: Contrary to what many doctors like to tell people, panic is not an illness. There is absolutely no scientific evidence to support that view. Panic is also not a result of any so-called “chemical imbalance”. The chemical imbalance hypothesis is dead in mainstream scientific circles, although many doctors who don’t keep up with the scientific literature haven’t discovered this yet. If you want to learn more about this, one of the top researchers in this area, Irving Kirsch, has written an accessible book called “The Emperor's New Drugs”. On top of this, Brett Deacon from The University of Wyoming headed research showing that using the outdated, inaccurate chemical imbalance metaphor is actively harmful... because it increases self-blame, pessimism about the future, provokes a sense of stigma, and convinces people to believe in medication as the best or only solution (even though research has clearly shown that medication is far less effective for panic than psychological approaches). In other words, when people are made to believe in the outdated “chemical imbalance” theory, it makes it harder for them to get better, it can be depressing, and it makes everything worse. Fortunately, all the science clearly shows that panic is not an illness, and it’s NOT caused by any mythical “chemical imbalance”.
A Panic Attack Is “Just” An Overprotective Mistake It’s biochemically impossible for a panic attack to continue indefinitely. Panic always ends, no matter what you do. While there are ways to immediately end panic attacks (no matter how intense), the key thing to know, for now, is that no matter what you do, even if you do NOTHING, panic will ALWAYS end. The physiology of panic will be explained further in episode #2. IMPORTANT: It's always good to get one full medical check-up from a good doctor, just to make sure that you don't have a medical issue that can mimic panic. A lot of people get worried when they hear this, but it's just sensible advice. We're recommended to check with a doctor before starting a new exercise program, and it's just as good an idea if you've diagnosed your situation as panic. © Michael Norman International & www.PanicFreeTV.com
A Panic Attack Is A False Alarm The most scientifically backed explanation for why so many of us have had panic attacks is what Psychology Professor, Randolph Nesse, from Arizona State University, has called The Smoke Detector Principle. To understand The Smoke Detector Principle, consider this: which of these two smoke alarms would you prefer to have protecting you in your home? An undersensitive smoke alarm that sometimes FAILS to go off and stays silent, even when there is a deadly fire in your house? Or… an over-sensitive smoke alarm that never misses a real fire… but occasionally goes off when you burn the toast, even though there is no danger, and everything is actually fine? When it comes to our survival, it’s better to have a smoke alarm system that errs on the side of safety… even if that means we sometimes get false alarms. Because our personal safety is so important, our fear systems are also biased to be over-protective… and this means they can sometimes have false alarms. And so panic attacks are False Alarms of our overprotective, life-saving fear systems. While it probably hasn’t felt that way in the past, the truth is that a panic attack is “JUST” a terrifying, overwhelming, overprotective MISTAKE. A mistake that, ironically, is motivated by our brain’s #1 priority in life — to keep you safe. The only REAL problem, and it’s a big one, is that it’s a terrifying mistake. It’s a mistake that can leave us feeling exposed and vulnerable, and make our world feel very unsafe. The really good news is that because panic is a mistake that your brain has been making, we can teach your brain to correct it for good.
© Michael Norman International & www.PanicFreeTV.com
Here's Why I Believe You Are Braver Than You've Realised: Courage is not the absence of fear, as Nelson Mandela pointed out, and NO ONE finds a Panic False Alarm at all easy. There are Iraq vets who’ve said that their panic attacks were as terrifying as being in a firefight in the middle of the Gulf War. In other words, a full-blown Panic False Alarm is a terrifying experience for even the strongest and bravest people. Why is panic so scary? When a smoke alarm goes off because of burnt toast, it’s just as loud and unpleasant as when it’s goes off because of a deadly fire. In the same way, even though panic is “JUST” a false alarm, your body doesn’t know that, and so it responds as if you were really in danger. A really bad panic “attack” is the exact same physiological response people have when jumping out of a plane, or just before a car crash… or having a stalker attack out of the shadows. It's the fear system operating at its maximum. This is why I believe you're probably a LOT more courageous than you've given yourself credit for. You’ve faced things other people couldn’t imagine, over and over again, and you haven’t given up. Together, we will help you finally triumph, and get back your normal, Panic-Free life. Just like I’m walking now, after most people “knew” I’d never walk again, YOU TOO can and will become your own genuine, living proof — both to yourself and to others — that real, lasting freedom from panic attacks is absolutely possible. That's what Panic Free is all about: you finally enjoying a life that's as normal, care-free, and Panic-Free as anyone else you know.
Coming next... EPISODE 2: “PANIC EXPLAINED” Episode 2 is about THE core, hidden pattern behind every panic attack you’ve ever had. Understanding this core pattern: Is KEY to your quick, permanent recovery... Explains why you’ve had multiple Panic False Alarms... Will take away all the mystery surrounding the symptoms panic has given you... And it will show you the fastest, most effective way to go from a life with panic back to life that’s as normal, care-free, and panic-free… as anyone else you know.
© Michael Norman International & www.PanicFreeTV.com
